Fairfield Hills eyed for possible arena

Nanci G. Hutson

Updated 11:39 pm, Monday, February 24, 2014

NEWTOWN -- The winter Olympics may not have inspired the idea, but two local hockey coaches pitching the prospect of a community ice arena on the Fairfield Hills campus were encouraged with the enthusiastic response they received last night.

The Fairfield Hills Authority received last-minute notice that members of the Newtown Ice Arena committee wanted to present their proposal to build what they anticipate as a $10 million facility to accommodate youth and adult ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, wheelchair sled hockey and a curling rink.

In January, the committee met with land-use officials, and last week members met with three Northeast arena consultants about the feasibility of building on the Fairfield Hills campus location.

All seemed to favor the idea, the committee members said.

"Frankly, it's awesome," Thomas Connors, authority chairman, said about the proposal for a nonrofit-run complex of about 85,000 square feet, able to accommodate all types of year-round recreational ice sports.

"We would love to see it happen. I'm a horrific skater, but I'd like to curl -- to be the broom guy," he added.

The two showed some preliminary design concepts and said the plan would be to demolish that building and replace it with the rink, which the coaches said might be able to materialize in a couple of years if the town allows them to lease the land.

Connors said the authority is hesitant about committing campus space before all is ready to be signed, sealed and delivered.

But he and fellow members said they are willing to say this would clearly fit into the Fairfield Hills master plan of development, and the proposed location is not currently targeted for another use.

Esposito and Kenny said there is already a strong youth hockey program in town, and for this would be a place that will fit in with the existing Newtown Youth Academy fitness center and the proposed GE community center, which will include a swimming pool.

Authority members did say they do not think all three facilities should be located in the same area of the campus, so as not to overcrowd one area.

In the arena plans, other amenities would include a restaurant/club house/bar and sky lounge overlooking the rink, a pro shop, a training facility specific to ice skating, locker rooms and classroom spaces.